TSA intercepts Civil War-era cannonballs in checked luggage at Alabama airport

Published Aug 3, 05:49 PM UTC

On July 18, 2026, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Alabama's Gulf Shores International Airport discovered five Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger's checked luggage. The inert projectiles, wrapped in paper towels, were initially feared to be live explosives. TSA officer Justin Dupree described the find as an 'Indiana Jones-esque stolen artifact-type situation.' The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office and a TSA explosives specialist determined the cannonballs posed no threat. Law enforcement reported that the passenger claimed to be unaware of how the items were acquired. The cannonballs were later returned to Fort Morgan, the nearby coastal stronghold from which they were believed to have been stolen. The article also references a 2019 incident where a Florida man attempted to fly with a disassembled rocket-propelled grenade.